Marathon is the Game I Didn’t Know I Needed

Bungie and I go back a long way. While I never spent any quality time with the original Marathon titles, in 2000 I had my pre-order ready to go for the Gamecube with no notion of ever wanting this new “Xbox” from Microsoft. Until, that is, I played Halo C.E. at a kiosk when picking up my Gamecube. I was immediately hooked, and ended up going back that night to buy an Xbox and Halo. Long story short, my Gamecube mostly collected dust in the following months while Halo became my favorite franchise for generations to come.

While I spent a fair amount of time with Destiny, it never grabbed me like Halo, and certain aspects of its design never sat well with me. So, over the last few years with Destiny having its ups and downs, Bungie facing layoffs after being acquired by PlayStation, and extraction shooters being generally more focused and niche, my interest in Marathon was low from the outset.

That didn’t change after playing the early builds last year. While the shooting mechanics were quintessential Bungie and I had some fun with friends, the rest of the package didn’t impress me too thoroughly. From there, we know the rest of the story: feedback on the early builds wasn’t very positive, ARC Raiders blew up, and Marathon received a significant delay with little to no news for months.

So, then, why am I sitting here a week after its release having spent 55 hours on Tau Ceti IV already? Because Marathon is the game I didn’t know I’ve wanted for a very long time.

Embrace Your Density

I’m a figure it out yourself kind of person. And does Marathon ever have a lot to figure out. Part of what intrigues me so much about Marathon is how much is packed into it which isn’t immediately apparent in the first few hours. It’s a game that rewards curiosity, with far more world-building than you would expect to see out of a multiplayer title in this vein.

Learning about the, now frighteningly relevant, future of the human species in space, the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence, and how corporations rule all, has been a joy, and certainly more intriguing than I would have expected. This is, in part, due to the effectiveness of how the Factions are structured.

The story-related quests are tied to specific needs (read: wants) for each faction and help to flesh out the world around you while you utilize runner shells to infiltrate the United Earth Space Council (UESC). In parallel, as you explore each area and exfil successfully with items, you’ll slowly fill out a codex that provides a wealth of context and lore. This type of emergent storytelling is effective in that there are surface level elements presented to you while simultaneously offering much more for those who want to engage with it.

Given the type of game Marathon is, I love it. And I’m left wondering why we haven’t seen more competitive multiplayer games take this approach.

From Now On, You’re Running

Competitive multiplayer? But Ains, I’m a friendly! Not anymore you aren’t.

First and foremost, Marathon is a competitive multiplayer game. And it’s a big part of what contributes to it being a new, unique package that I love so much. Yes, you can technically use proximity chat to say you’re friendly to enemies you encounter. And yes, you can largely try to avoid confrontation if you choose. But you’d be missing out on some of the best parts of the game.

After all, this is Bungie. We may be decades after they perfected FPS controls on console and aim assist in the Blam! engine, but somehow, someway, they always know how to make a first-person shooter just feel “right.”

The mechanics are sublime. Movement, aiming, target acquisition, hit registration and its corresponding feedback, etc. are all exactly what you would expect from the company known for Halo and Destiny. So while extraction shooters aren’t new, and some have a PvP focus, they simply don’t have combat that feels this good match after match after match.

Marathon then takes that base and shakes it up with a few different mixers, creating a cocktail that I want to get drunk on like I was 19 again. The first of which are the runner shells that each bring their own abilities to the flow of combat.

There’s nothing extraordinarily unique with the runner shells, to be fair. The Assassin brings active camo, Recon can activate a proximity sensor, the Thief can quickly grapple to another location, and the rest of the shells offer similar skills we’ve largely seen in other games. But as is said, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. And that couldn’t be more true for Marathon.

Team on team encounters can take on a shape that feels so dynamic, you’re never sure what’s going to unfold from one second to the next. They can be just as thrilling as some of the best arena-FPS matches you’ve played, but on a broader scale. With a wide array of weaponry, long sight lines and verticality, the potential for challenging A.I. enemies to join the fray mid-fight, and the threat of third-partying ever present, there’s a constant sense of tension and excitement at all times. The thrill of winning a few battles and exfilling successfully is exhilarating, and frequently provides the “let’s run it back!” feeling I adore in competitive games like this.

Why Loot the Dead When You Can Buy From Me?

But Marathon isn’t merely dense in its lore or PvP. There’s a surprising amount of build variety thanks in part to the sheer number of items available to loot. At launch, there are already 28 different weapons in the game with varying mechanics and range viability. But more importantly, modifying the weapons doesn’t simply impact the weapons themselves, but can also provide unique bonuses to your runner or specific classes, some of which are very powerful. Each runner can then be equipped with a wide variety of cores and implants as well, thus giving players a large amount of freedom in how they tune their playstyles.

It’s akin to what you’d find in a game like Borderlands where there’s always something new to find or experiment with. And due to the sci-fi setting, allows Bungie to go further than peer games with realistic settings. Mixing this design focus with competitive PvP, the risk vs. reward factor is always dangling in front of you on a stick. You don’t have to run after it, and you may die if you do, but you could also be rewarded heavily if you succeed.

I love to experiment in games and feel there’s still so much to discover and play around with in Marathon. And knowing how much is still to be discovered and added to the game, I feel like a kid who just discovered a giant, ever-expanding sandbox.

To address one of the elephants of the genre, one of the criticisms I most often hear thrown at extraction-style shooters is “I don’t like worrying about losing my stuff.”  I’ve had this same feeling at times as it’s not something you would normally worry about in looting games. But another pleasantly surprising aspect of Marathon is how little I’ve come to care about dying. The reason being, there are so many ways to gather items and equipment, you often feel like you have too much as it is. Beyond looting during matches, leveling factions and completing quests provides you with a wide range of gear. And as you level factions, it unlocks a wealth of items that are either free daily or can be purchased with money or bartered for. It’s a never-ending drip, and it removes much of the “gear fear” you may associate with the extraction genre.

Art is not What You See, but What You Make Others See

Being honest, when Marathon initially debuted I, like many, was taken aback by the artistic direction. It seemed a little flat. Maybe too colorful while simultaneously lacking detail? I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. So I’m not sure if it’s merely time or a growing appreciation after spending a lot of time with it, but I’ve come to truly love it.

Obviously, one of the main reasons is it being unique. With so many titles on the market and so many shooters looking and feeling similar, it’s refreshing to play in a world that feels wholly fresh. From the environments to the weaponry, Marathon won’t be mistaken for any other game.

But what’s not readily apparently from the outset as well, is the lack of visual noise in a competitive game. Even with longer sight lines, enemy runners, UESC enemies, and other unique elements stand out. When combined with very effective sound direction as well, it provides a lot of information to you, thus allowing you to decide how to navigate the map or approach situations.

It also empowers Bungie to add design elements that affect the moment-to-moment gameplay more than it would in other games. For instance, changing weather conditions on the maps greatly impact how they are played. Trudging through the swamps of Dire Marsh when it’s sunny and foggy, it’s far easier to remain hidden and avoid the threat of long-distance encounters. Meanwhile, a heavy storm at night on Outpost gives you further cover as Rook (the Scavenger class) to sneak around and steal everything you can carry. It’s yet another aspect of Marathon that I’ve come to appreciate.

The End is Just the Beginning

All of that said, there are absolutely areas of Marathon that I’d like to see improve. The UI is fiddly, and though I’ve grown accustomed to it now, it could certainly be streamlined more. Too many items look similar, with some lacking any distinct design which can be especially frustrating when you’re trying to loot quickly. I could go on, but our review will dive more into those details.

Despite the areas I’d like to see improve, Marathon has, quite frankly, surprised the hell out of me. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect in the full package even after playing it last year. But what I didn’t expect is the next PvP shooter from Bungie to also feature a very deep looting system, a world filled with interesting lore I want to learn more about, and character build depth that rivals some ARPGs. It’s one of those games that has you itching for another run immediately after completing one, regardless of how well or poorly you might have done.

It’s an intoxicating blend of genres in a single game, and I simply can’t get enough. Perhaps most exciting, is that the “full” game hasn’t even released yet. The fourth area, Cryo Archive, which will also serve as some of the end-game run areas hasn’t opened up yet. It is being uncovered by the community and I expect it to be available next week. And of course, I’m excited for Ranked mode to drop with it, providing an even more hardcore experience while offering players more options for how they play.

Stay tuned for our full review along with our live-show discussion on Marathon in the coming days. For now, I’m heading back to Tau Ceti IV. I hope to catch you there and fully unaware…